Yuki kieba egu no wakana mo tsumubeki ni haru sae harenu miyamabe no sato - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

雪消えばゑぐの若菜も摘むべきに
春さへ晴れぬ深山辺の里

Roma-ji: Yuki kieba egu no wakana mo tsumubeki ni haru sae harenu miyamabe no sato
English Translation: If the snow would melt
the young egu greens as well
I could gather them,
but even spring will not clear
in this village by deep hills.
Meaning: If only the snow would melt, I could gather young egu greens; but even in spring the sky never clears over this village near the deep mountains.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 5

The poem laments life in a mountain village where, though greens could be gathered if the snow would melt, the skies stay clouded even in spring. It conveys the feel of a late mountain spring, far from the elegant green-gathering of the capital.
It shows Sone no Yoshitada's characteristic choice of everyday material and his plain, direct manner.

The first line, "if the snow would melt," is a hypothetical with the irrealis plus "ba," assuming that snow still lies on the ground.
In the second line, "egu" is a plant of marshes gathered as spring greens; unusual in poetic diction, it is a pairing typical of Yoshitada.
The third line, "I could gather them," means one should be able to, with "ni" leading on adversatively; it answers the next poem's last line, "gather young greens," in the theme of green-gathering.
The fourth line, "even spring will not clear," uses "sae" to add emphasis, expressing the heaviness of a village shut in by snow.
The last line, "this village by deep hills," ends on a noun, leaving a lingering resonance.
Author: Sone no Yoshitada
Source: Shika Wakashu
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